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Thai Banks Asked To Cut Foreigners Atm Transaction Fees


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#226 SurfRider

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Posted 2009-05-10 21:31:46

"Why are some members able to take out more then 10 000 at a time?"
    
The max amount per day is set by whatever bank hosts your account in your home country -- You need to ask them to increase the limit -- assuming you have a track-record with them without any past problems, it should not be a probelm to get your daily limit raised.  
  
  
"The charges so far are always $5 American and About 4.96 for the Thai Bank . . . I must pay for 4 transactions per month to get my pension money from America."
    
There are several ThaiVisa threads on this subject -- the best information that has emerged is that there are four Thai banks that are not charging the new Thai 150 Baht usury fee at their ATMs if you use a DEBIT CARD from a foreign account.   If you're using a CREDIT CARD, the situation is different and that may be why you're paying fees on the Thai side.
  

The best Thai ATM deal is Government Savings Bank ( GSB ) -- no fee and 30,000 Baht per transaction limit -- Ayudhya and Kasikorn also don't charge the new 150 Baht fee, but their limit is 20,000 Baht per transaction.
    
Below is data on one of the best deals you can get if you're a U.S. Citizen living abroad -- no fees on the U.S end and no fees on the Thai end if you use ATMs at one of the four no-fee banks:
  
( apologies to those who are sick of seeing this, but it seems that there are still some who could benefit from this information )
    
E-Trade has two divisions -- Brokerage and Banking -- You can open an  E-Trade checking account on-line, and request a Visa Debit Card that can be  used worldwide to withdraw cash from an ATM in the local currency without any transfer or  currency conversion fees on the E-Trade end --AND-- you don't need to have a Brokerage account.
    
The account can be managed on-line from anywhere in the world.
    
Awhile  back SCB started adding a 20 baht fee to ATM withdrawals from a foreign  account, but that charge only showed up on the ATM receipt and  was never deducted from the E-Trade account, so it isn't clear whether  ET ate the charge, or SCB simply never got paid.
  
In response to a specific recent inquiry, ET said they WOULD NOT  cover the new 150 Baht confiscatory charge that is unique to Thailand,  but since it's possible to avoid this fee by using an ATM at one of four known Thai banks that are not charging the fee, that should not be a problem.
  
Last  time I checked, you needed a U.S. Address, Phone, and Driver's License  in order to open an ET checking account, but I know of an Expat here  who used his brother's address, etc. in the U.S. and there was no  problem opening the account.
    
I think you may need to keep  a small cash balance in the account if you want to avoid a minor monthly  service charge, but that does not affect anything associated with  transfer of funds via a Debit Card ATM withdrawal.
  
I've been  using their Debit Card for almost 5 years to move funds into Thailand  and have never paid even one single Baht to do so.
    
https://us.etrade.com/e/t/banking

#227 jfchandler

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Posted 2009-05-10 22:14:42

View PostSurfTrader, on 2009-05-10 21:31:46, said:

There are several ThaiVisa threads on this subject -- the best information that has emerged is that there are four Thai banks that are not charging the new Thai 150 Baht usury fee at their ATMs if you use a DEBIT CARD from a foreign account.   If you're using a CREDIT CARD, the situation is different and that may be why you're paying fees on the Thai side.

I'd expand on this a bit. The new 150 baht Thai fee applies to foreign cards used in ATMs here (except for the 4 or so Thai banks not yet charging it), including both foreign debit and credit cards.

So if someone is using a foreign credit card here in LOS to withdraw month from a Thai bank ATM, they'll either get or not get the 150 baht fee depending on which Thai bank company ATM they use. And then, then they'll usually get a 3% cash advance fee on the amount withdrawn from their home bank, plus possibly an additional % fee or flat amount fee for foreign currency, depending on their home bank's policy. All those fees really begin to add up, especially when pulling money with a credit card. Plus you usually begin getting charged interest from day 1... no grace period.  

Regarding Etrade and their Max Rate checking account, as I believe I've also replied before...

E-Trade has a $15 monthly fee unless you meet any of several conditions to have it waived.

Those include:
    * Maintain a minimum average balance of $5,000 in your Max-Rate Checking Account
    * Set up and maintain a direct deposit of $200 or more per month (A combination of direct deposits totaling $200 does not satisfy this requirement)
    * Maintain a combined balance of $50,000 or more in linked E*TRADE Securities, E*TRADE Bank, and employee stock plan accounts (including vested in-the-money options, stock option plan shares, ESPP shares, and released restricted stock) accounts
    * Execute at least 30 stock or options trades during a calendar quarter in a linked E*TRADE Securities account

I like E-Trade and am a customer of theirs... But they've been really cutting their interest rates lately, even far below most of their competitors... So now their checking account pays only .4% (4/10s of one percent) interest on balances of $5,000 and above.

Unless you already have other accounts with E-Trade that cause the fee to be waived, it's a lot of money to leave around earning nothing in order to avoid a $15 per month fee. There are other similarly featured deals to be had without all the conditions, such as Schwab's accounts. But if you can avoid the E-Trade fee, it's a nice account to have, and their ACH transfers are quick.

#228 Milo

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Posted 2009-05-10 23:06:26

View PostSurfTrader, on 2009-05-04 07:00:32, said:

Friendlyguy,
  
You reported:
    
"You can do this if you have a Thai bank account. I have a Siam  Commercial Bank account. I setup a Paypal account noting the country as  Thailand during the setup. I added my Siam Commercial Bank account to  it. It was listed as a bank in the drop down. I also have an American  Paypal so what I do is transfer money from my Paypal American account  to my Paypal Thailand account. If i do over 5000 baht there is no fee  otherwise it's 50 baht."
    
If you could post the US$ amount that was debited from your US account and the amount of Baht that was credited to your SBC account - as well as the date of the transaction -  We could calculate the Exchange Rate that you received  vs.  the rate that you would have received from a Debit Card transaction at a local ATM.
    
You may have discovered the best kept secret in international money transfer, or - as someone suggested, PayPal may be giving you a very unfavorable rate that may be costing far more than the confiscatory 150 Baht ATM fee.
.

Sorry, it's late, couldn't be bothered to read all 10pages in case repeating an earlier post! Apologies if so.

Too true, we use PayPal a great deal, the exchange rate is absolutely abysmal, fair enough they advertise free transfers, but then charge anywhere up to 3% to withdraw from your PayPal a/c to bank a/c, you missed this? Was in fact so disgusted on the last transaction from an Aussie booking I emailed them. Usual story, 5 different emails from 5 different 'Advisors' denying it all. I sent them the SCB's rates for the day, proving we'd lost around 8% in total. Again, complete denial even with the evidence right in front of them.

Cash transfer, flat rate, have the Thai banks perform the currency conversion, lose buttons. We have a mid-market rate converter on the website, tell folk they'll have to pay maybe an extra 1% as our bank wants something out of the deal.
Alternatively ask their own bank how much the tour would cost if they performed the conversion at home, anywhere up to 10% extra! A bit more work for me doing the conversions for folk manually, then they have to get down to their bank sharpish before the rate changes too much, but all really appreciate the effort involved, nobody wants to give those grabbing barstewards a penny if can help it.

In conclusion, at least the Thai banks don't rob us quite as blind as their western counterparts? Hoping they don't catch on just how much money there really IS to be made!!

#229 Milo

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Posted 2009-05-10 23:18:45

View PostTPI, on 2009-05-10 06:07:54, said:

View Postdezy1801, on 2009-05-04 18:00:59, said:

View PostTPI, on 2009-05-04 18:47:13, said:

Pay attention...I'll only say this once!

When you transfer your money from your country of official residence, transfer it in the original currency into your Thai account, where the bank will gladly change into Thai Baht. The money will arrive within 24 hours.....You only pay the initial transfer cost usually $20-$30 regardless of the amount! Then you can take the Thai Baht out of any ATM and only pay the ฿20 standard fee! On the upside, your money is changed at the T\T rate (which is the best you can get!). OK?
:)  :D  :D
So your saying that I can't access the money for 24 hours if you transfer from country of residence? If you take the money out of the bank you transfer it into say the Siam bank, if you withdraw from there ATM's you DON'T pay the 20 baht charge only if withdrawn from another bank i.e. Kasakorn or am I wrong again :D
No, what I am saying is that the money normally takes from "instant" to "24 hours" to transfer depending on what time you do the transfer from your home bank...You need to have the money transfered into a Thai account...then you pay the normal Thai charges for every withdrawel, you don't get slugged 150 baht for every withdrawel plus the home bank charge for an "another bank ATM" and the charge for transfering to a foreign bank! OK?

I wouldn't use the 24hr service either, our bank in the UK has 24hr, 5 working day and 7 working day transaction fees. Send the cash in plenty of time and save even more.  :D  :D

Cheers,

Milo

#230 Chayaphum

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Posted 2009-05-10 23:19:32

today, i have tested each ATM around Koh Samui (one of each bank only :D )
and i can announce to all those who want to know about the ATM's limits.

With one exception every ATM gives you max. 20'000 THB in one day.

The GSB in Nathon also offered me a maximum amount of 20'000 THB :)  :D (not 30'000 THB)

The exception is the Bangkok Bank, they will give 25'000 THB in one day.


Chayaphum

#231 SurfRider

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Posted 2009-05-10 23:51:45

JfChandler,
"E-Trade has a $15 monthly fee unless you meet any of several conditions to have it waived."
"Those include: Set up and maintain a direct deposit of $200 or more per month"
"their checking account pays only .4% (4/10s of one percent) interest on balances of $5,000 and above."
    
Everything you pointed out is technically correct, but I hope you'll permit me the liberty of expanding a bit more on these issues   :)
    
In the example I was responding to, the Expat was paying around US $40 per month to move funds into Thailand from the U.S --  So, I guess the difference between a $15 charge on the U.S. side vs. his current $40 in fees, speaks for itself.
    
Any U.S. retiree living abroad is most likely collecting Social Security in the U.S. -- If that monthly payment is automatically deposited to the E-Trade account ( as in my case ), that direct-deposit eliminates the $15 ET fee.
    
Not to split hairs :D  -- but yes, the .4% stipend is a pittance-- however if that meager benefit is important, you could always open an ET Savings Account, link the two accounts -- collect .95% on funds in the Savings Account, and transfer funds on-line to Checking when you feel the urge to visit a Thai ATM.

#232 coastman

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Posted 2009-05-12 11:01:44

View Postgrahamhc, on 2009-05-04 13:25:33, said:

View PostRalf61, on 2009-05-04 13:06:41, said:

Well, Visa issued a statement, that they did not initiate anything new and that they are negotiating with Thai banks to cancel this stupid 150 THB fee.

It is just another way to suck some money from those farangs. Now I have to go to a life tenner, line up with all those customers and get my Visa cash into my Thai account.

You can get 20.000THB at max out of those ATMs with +150THB each, so this will lead to another +pan bath every month in LOS...
Time to move to Laos :)

Ralf
Brit users of Nationwide (Banking) are now being charges a fee to withdraw money, as VISA have increased the fees to the UK banks for handling the money.

Must have so Thais working at VISA Head Office.  "Err? Travel down, Spending down, Withdrawals down. LETS PUT UP THE PRICES!"

View Postjohnnynmonic, on 2009-05-04 13:12:06, said:

A friend of mine works for VISA in the U.S.  According to him, when a vendor has a VISA terminal in their store, it is a violation of contract to charge more for credit/debit card transactions than for cash.  Everyone does it though in Asia, I guess the banks thought they would climb on board that gravy train too...
Even back in the UK, you pay extra to use a Credit Card to buy your flights in the travel Agents, even though the rule there also says "No Surcharge"


Just to add my two peneth on this subject.  Nationwide  Debit card holders will need to pay a fee from 1st June.  See below their explanation.  Rest assured Thailand is listesd as one of the countries where there is a fee.  However there are still lots of countries such as Turkey where the fee is not applied.
"Nationwide continues to offer commission-free foreign transactions. By commission-free we mean not adding any additional charge for the service of exchanging currency that generates profit for the Society.

When you use a Nationwide Visa debit card or credit card to make a transaction in certain currencies other than sterling, Visa charge a fee for each transaction and Nationwide currently pays that fee on your behalf.

We will start to pass this fee onto you from 6 May 2009 on credit card and from 1 June 2009 on debit card and it will be included in the sterling amount shown on your statement.

The fee is currently 0.84%. From 1 July 2009 this fee will increase to 1%.

The list below provides details of the countries for which Visa charge a fee. To check if you will be charged, please search for the country you are visiting by using the A-Z list. Unless stated otherwise a fee will be charged"




So it would seem that even if you use a Thai bank which does not charge the 150 baht you are still going to have to pay a Nationwide fee.  My guess is that all UK banks, if they haven't already, will follow suit.

#233 david555

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Posted 2009-05-15 21:22:24

View Postcoastman, on 2009-05-12 11:01:44, said:

View Postgrahamhc, on 2009-05-04 13:25:33, said:

View PostRalf61, on 2009-05-04 13:06:41, said:

Well, Visa issued a statement, that they did not initiate anything new and that they are negotiating with Thai banks to cancel this stupid 150 THB fee.

It is just another way to suck some money from those farangs. Now I have to go to a life tenner, line up with all those customers and get my Visa cash into my Thai account.

You can get 20.000THB at max out of those ATMs with +150THB each, so this will lead to another +pan bath every month in LOS...
Time to move to Laos :)

Ralf
Brit users of Nationwide (Banking) are now being charges a fee to withdraw money, as VISA have increased the fees to the UK banks for handling the money.

Must have so Thais working at VISA Head Office. "Err? Travel down, Spending down, Withdrawals down. LETS PUT UP THE PRICES!"

View Postjohnnynmonic, on 2009-05-04 13:12:06, said:

A friend of mine works for VISA in the U.S. According to him, when a vendor has a VISA terminal in their store, it is a violation of contract to charge more for credit/debit card transactions than for cash. Everyone does it though in Asia, I guess the banks thought they would climb on board that gravy train too...
Even back in the UK, you pay extra to use a Credit Card to buy your flights in the travel Agents, even though the rule there also says "No Surcharge"


Just to add my two peneth on this subject. Nationwide Debit card holders will need to pay a fee from 1st June. See below their explanation. Rest assured Thailand is listesd as one of the countries where there is a fee. However there are still lots of countries such as Turkey where the fee is not applied.
"Nationwide continues to offer commission-free foreign transactions. By commission-free we mean not adding any additional charge for the service of exchanging currency that generates profit for the Society.

When you use a Nationwide Visa debit card or credit card to make a transaction in certain currencies other than sterling, Visa charge a fee for each transaction and Nationwide currently pays that fee on your behalf.

We will start to pass this fee onto you from 6 May 2009 on credit card and from 1 June 2009 on debit card and it will be included in the sterling amount shown on your statement.

The fee is currently 0.84%. From 1 July 2009 this fee will increase to 1%.

The list below provides details of the countries for which Visa charge a fee. To check if you will be charged, please search for the country you are visiting by using the A-Z list. Unless stated otherwise a fee will be charged"




So it would seem that even if you use a Thai bank which does not charge the 150 baht you are still going to have to pay a Nationwide fee. My guess is that all UK banks, if they haven't already, will follow suit.




Took 2 days ago 3000 BTH at a Kasikorn ATM   WITH MY FOREIGN DEBITCARD ,and NO charged with the 150 BTH, and checked today online my country bankstatement , and ONLY my usual transaction fee they charged   SO KASIKORN DOES NOT CHARGE THE 150 BTH

#234 fxe1200

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Posted 2009-05-15 23:43:01

View Postrobbie22, on 2009-05-07 15:39:32, said:

View Postwozza, on 2009-05-04 17:47:44, said:

I used at least six different ATMS around Bangkok last week  and all of them charged the 150 baht and I could only take out 10,000 baht at a time ,on 1 machine it said it could only dispense 10 bills per transaction 10 x 1000 = 10,000

It doubled my atm fees because i usualy take out 20 000 at a time

Why are some members able to take out more then 10 000 at a time? I used to be able to last year but not now
I have an account in the States and the max withdrawal is $500 US which works out to about 17.600 baht a day. The charges so far are always $5 American and About 4.96 for the Thai Bank. Last week the charges were $5 for my US account and another $5 for the Thai bank I always use Kaiskorn or Farmers Bank  did try 2 different banks and got the 150 warning so cancelled the transaction. I must pay for 4 transactions per month to get my pension money from America. If you use a wire transfer it still costs $45 american there is no way to get around these charges. The best post so far on how to avoid these charges is something like the E-Trade checking with free no atm charges. Also I was told that Washington Mutual has free or reduced charges for ATM usage. Hope this helps someone.

As I mentioned previously. Kasikorn and Ayudhya are not charging me anything until today. I am using a regular creditcard(MC) for my takings, which is issued by a Bank in Luxembourg.

Give it a shot!

#235 kirlian

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Posted 2009-05-16 09:28:59

Tried Kasikorn ATM today in Bangkok and it asked for 150 THB fee. Canceled the transaction and used Bank Of Ayudhya - zero fee.

#236 jfchandler

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Posted 2009-05-16 09:57:17

These are the first reports of Kasikorn beginning to charge the 150 baht ATM fee... one here above..and another today by a different poster in the other related thread on this subject.  Can anyone else confirm from a transaction today/Saturday??

I used a Kasikorn ATM in BKK last night/Friday, and there was no fee then. But now is Saturday....

#237 mongoose

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Posted 2009-05-16 11:22:39

If they do not get you on the fee, they will on the rate.

#238 david555

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Posted 2009-05-16 12:33:35

View Postjfchandler, on 2009-05-16 09:57:17, said:

These are the first reports of Kasikorn beginning to charge the 150 baht ATM fee... one here above..and another today by a different poster in the other related thread on this subject. Can anyone else confirm from a transaction today/Saturday??

I used a Kasikorn ATM in BKK last night/Friday, and there was no fee then. But now is Saturday....

YES they charged me too from today saterday the 150 bth, in contrary with my topic earlier that they did not charged me few days ago inside Big C center Kasikorn bank

#239 fxe1200

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Posted 2009-05-16 13:04:10

View Postmongoose, on 2009-05-16 11:22:39, said:

If they do not get you on the fee, they will on the rate.


That is wrong. With my MC credit card I can deduct 100 to 25.000THB and I use it to get cash an average of 20 times a month. I.e I have our "Mae Baan" using the card and deduct 300 THB for her shopping at the "Talad sod" or fresh market.

The rate shown in my monthly statement differs 0.5 points from the actual middle rate as published by the ECB:
http://www.ecb.eu/st...aph-thb.en.html.

I.e. when I deducted 100 THB by May 6th, the ECB rate is 46.857 THB/EURO. The charge in my settlement will be at a rate of 46,357 THB/EURO. There never has been a charge for the transaction within a foreign country nor a fee for taking cash. This still is cheaper than sending money from Germany into a Thai account on a monthly basis, as Thai banks still take a minimum of 300 THB in commission, even when you execute your payment as an "OUR" payment, which means, all expenses are being paid by the sender (compared to "BENEFICARY", all expenses paid by the recipient, or "SHARED", the expenses will be shared equally inbetween the sender and the recipient).

Actually the SCB started the whole scam charging 20 THB, and now almost all banks take 150THB per transaction


I just came back from Carrefour, Hat Yai, where I tried to deduct money from the machine. Kasikorn is now charging 150THB.

The Ayudhya ATM displayed a new window at my request, asking me if I would accept the exchange rate of 45,14 THB/EURO (ECB yesterday 46,718). Though denying the request, I could sucessfully complete my deduction of 5.200THB without no fees to be paid.

But I do not believe it stays that way.


#240 SurfRider

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Posted 2009-05-17 00:07:28


"Tried Kasikorn ATM today in Bangkok and it asked for 150 THB fee. Canceled the transaction and used Bank Of Ayudhya - zero fee."
    
  Well, it looks like the venerable old Kasikorn-- formerly the alleged "Farang Friendly Bank" has joined the ranks of the United-Usury-Alliance and begun charging the confiscatory 150 Baht fee for all ATM foreign account Debit Card withdrawals.
      
  This apparently leaves Ayudhya and GSB still not charging the fee --  Presumably GSB ( Government Savings Bank ) will remain fee-free, since they're not a member of the cabal that conspired on this latest screw-the-farang escapade--  unless they also make the decision at some point to jump on the greed band-wagon.
      
  Earlier reports had GSB with the highest per-transaction amount of 30,000 Baht, but one report from Samui with only a 20,000 limit.
      
  UOB ( United Overseas Bank ) was also reported as fee-free, but only in one report, as I recall.
      
  If anyone has recent updates on GSB and UOB, it would be nice to have them reported-- as well as the continuing reports on Ayudhya.
    
  

Edited by SurfTrader, 2009-05-17 00:16:19.


#241 jgm005

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Posted 2009-05-17 00:42:52

Government Savings Bank (GSB) Nonsang, Nongbulampoo ATM as of 16/May at 13:03
NO FEE

#242 lekatai

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Posted 2009-05-17 00:59:47

Does anyone know the location of Government Savings Bank ATM's in Pattaya,I looked at their website,but the link to branches is all in Thai,and I don't recall seeing a GSB ATM.If there is one in the Soi Buakhao/Second Road area,that would be handy. Thanks

#243 shotover

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Posted 2009-05-17 01:32:00

View PostSurfTrader, on 2009-05-17 00:07:28, said:


"Tried Kasikorn ATM today in Bangkok and it asked for 150 THB fee. Canceled the transaction and used Bank Of Ayudhya - zero fee."
    
  Well, it looks like the venerable old Kasikorn-- formerly the alleged "Farang Friendly Bank" has joined the ranks of the United-Usury-Alliance and begun charging the confiscatory 150 Baht fee for all ATM foreign account Debit Card withdrawals.
      
  This apparently leaves Ayudhya and GSB still not charging the fee --  Presumably GSB ( Government Savings Bank ) will remain fee-free, since they're not a member of the cabal that conspired on this latest screw-the-farang escapade--  unless they also make the decision at some point to jump on the greed band-wagon.
      
  Earlier reports had GSB with the highest per-transaction amount of 30,000 Baht, but one report from Samui with only a 20,000 limit.
      
  UOB ( United Overseas Bank ) was also reported as fee-free, but only in one report, as I recall.
      
  If anyone has recent updates on GSB and UOB, it would be nice to have them reported-- as well as the continuing reports on Ayudhya.
    
  

Today, Saturday, 16 May about 12 noon:

ATMS at both the Kasikorn Bank and Bank of Ayudhya in the Bangkok On Nut area asked for the 150 baht per foreign withdrawal transaction.  The United Overseas ATM did not state they were charging the 150 baht transaction fee.  The effective transaction rate at the UOB ATM was about 34.11 baht per USD withdrawn.  The Kasikorn TT rate today was 34.42 baht per USD.

#244 SurfRider

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Posted 2009-05-17 01:48:41


"Does anyone know the location of Government Savings Bank ATM's in Pattaya"
    
Locations of Government savings Banks in Pattaya.
  GOVERNMENT SAVINGS BANK
  Banglamung Branch - 460 Naklua Road, Moo4
  Pattaya Branch - 205/23-24 Second Road, Moo10 Tel  +66(038) 423 690
  
      
There's also a GSB ATM in the Tutcom IT Center on South Pattaya Road ( Pattaya Tai ), just inside the front door on the right.
      
There was also a report that the TESCO North on Pattaya Nua Rd. has a GSB ATM, but I couldn't find it --  
        
However,  if you walk across the street from Tesco, turn left in front of Pattaya  City Hall and walk about 200 meters toward Sukumvit, there's GSB Bank  with a 24 Hour ATM outside --
      
  
UOB ( United Overseas  Bank ) was also reported as fee-free, but only in one report, as I  recall. They have at least one ATM ( probably more ) on Beach Road in  Pattaya.
      
If anyone has a recent update on UOB, please report it.

#245 SurfRider

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Posted 2009-05-17 02:07:40

"ATMS at both the Kasikorn Bank and Bank of Ayudhya in the  Bangkok On Nut area asked for the 150 baht per foreign withdrawal  transaction. The United Overseas ATM did not state they were charging  the 150 baht transaction fee. The effective transaction rate at the UOB  ATM was about 34.11 baht per USD withdrawn. The Kasikorn TT rate today  was 34.42 baht per USD."
    
It's probably uncertain at this point whether the difference between the 34.11 and 34.42 Exchange Rates was done to intentionally mask the new usury fee, or simply due to DCC or some other anomaly.
  
But the difference between the two rates results in a 180 Baht additional "charge" at UOB on a 20,000 Baht transaction.
    
Either way, your were "hit" for an additional charge that probably did not previously exist.
  
It would be interesting to see the stats on a GSB ( Government Savings Bank ) transaction, to evaluate if they might be the last renegade holdout on this scam.
  


#246 mel2surf

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Posted 2009-05-17 13:11:17

Not sure if already stated,but Kasikorn Bank on Rat U Tit Rd. in Patong charged me the 150 baht last night. Will try another bank's ATM machine next time.  :) :D

#247 cgit6

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Posted 2009-05-17 14:19:44

A-Bank (Ayudhas(sp?)- Siam Paragon - 15May -  33.x exchange rate + 150 special fee!

#248 Briggsy

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Posted 2009-05-17 14:25:04

Looks like Ayudhaya has gone too. Just the Government Savings Bank left not levying the 150 Baht ATM use fee.

#249 jfchandler

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Posted 2009-05-17 17:56:00

fyi, I made a fee-free ATM withdrawal today from the Government Savings Bank ATM at the Asoke BTS station (the ATM is located on the 2nd floor platform on the way toward the escalator down to the MRT station).

The GSB ATM was happy to take my U.S. VISA debit card. However, the GSB machine would NOT accept my U.S. MasterCard logo debit card.

Separately, I tried to use the same U.S. MasterCard logo debit card at a UOB Bank ATM, and it likewise was not accepted. (The card itself is fine, I used to use it all the time at Bangkok Bank, Siam Commer Bank and others, before they began charging the 150 baht fees).

#250 SurfRider

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Posted 2009-05-17 20:42:25

"I made a fee-free ATM withdrawal today from the Government Savings Bank ATM at the Asoke BTS station"
  
Any chance that you could check your on-line account and calculate and post the exchange rate that you received from GSB?
    
That might be the final piece of information that would tell whether GSB is the lone holdout on the 150 Baht scam, but possibly doing transactions an an unfavorable rate, which could negate the no-fee advantage, depending on the amount of the transaction.
    
Earlier, there was an example posted where a UOB  ATM did not charge the fee, but gave an unfavorable exchange rate that would result in a 180 Baht hidden fee on a 20,000 Baht transaction, due to the lower exchange rate.
  
Not to split hairs, but in the UOB scenario, any of the banks ( Ayudyah , etc. ) that ARE charging the fee, but giving a better exchange rate would be a better deal for any transaction over 17,000 Baht.



 


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